Life By Design Therapy

  How to Manage Stress and Prevent Burnout in the Workplace It started on a Wednesday. I was sitting at my desk, halfway through a meeting, when I realized I hadn’t stopped all morning. My inbox was overflowing, my shoulders ached, and my brain was locked on one thought: “Just get through the day.” Sound familiar? Workplace stress has become so normalized that many of us don’t notice how much it’s draining our energy and dysregulating our nervous system, until we’re completely depleted. While many of us desire to be okay and live with a sense of purpose and peace, it’s hard to regulate and find those moments in the midst of hustle culture.  If this is resonating with you, I want to remind you that you cannot continue to push through and find that sense of peace. Regulating comes from slowing down, creating space for rest, and allowing your body to return to balance. The good news? You can learn to manage stress and prevent burnout from work.  If you’ve been struggling to...

  How  to  Use  Affirmations  to  Build  Self-Worth I often see people come into sessions feeling defeated by their own inner dialogue. They’ve tried to shift it by trying positive affirmations, but the words don’t seem to land. If you’ve ever said an affirmation like, “I am enough,” only to feel discomfort, disbelief, or even shame in response, there are so many people who feel the same way. However, I want you to know that you’re not doing it wrong. The response you feel can be deeply informative. It tells you something about your nervous system and how it’s been shaped by past experiences. “Your self-worth isn’t just a mindset. It’s a lived experience in the body” When your nervous system has learned to be hypervigilant, shut down, or stuck in survival mode, it’s not concerned with worthiness. It’s focused on protection. This means that trying to think your way into self-worth with affirmations can feel jarring, even threatening, if your body doesn...

  There’s something about the quiet after the holidays that can feel both peaceful and heavy. The lights come down, the house feels still, and all that energy that carried you through December starts to fade. You might notice a dip in motivation or find yourself feeling flat, restless, or even a little lost. And you might have caught yourself wondering, Why do I feel this way after such a joyful time? Many people experience what’s often called the post-holiday slump, which is an emotional… Read More https://www.lifebydesigntherapy.com/blog/the-post-holiday-slump-why-you-feel-off-after-the-holidays-and-how-to-recover

  There’s a moment many people don’t talk about enough, in my opinion. The moment when nothing is technically wrong, but your body won’t settle. Work is over, yet your chest feels tight. You finally sit down, and your mind starts racing. You’re exhausted, but rest feels out of reach. If this sounds familiar, it doesn’t mean you’re bad at managing stress. It usually means your nervous system has been carrying more than it knows how to put down, and it’s asking for support. Not in the form of advice. Not in the form of “just relax.” Read More https://www.lifebydesigntherapy.com/blog/grounding-techniques-to-calm-your-nervous-system

  I used to think disconnecting after work meant closing my laptop. Logging off. Turning notifications to silent. And jumping into the next duty of parenthood and partnership.  But…my body didn’t get the memo. I’d be physically home, but mentally replaying emails. Emotionally bracing for tomorrow.  Sometimes I’d find myself tense for no obvious reason and snapping at the people I loved most. If you’re anything like me, you may relate to the feeling that your workday has ended, but your nervous system is still bracing like it hasn’t. And that’s a very different problem. If this sounds familiar, I understand, and here are a few tools that can support your nervous system out of work mode.   Why You Still Feel Stressed After Work Ends From a somatic, and body-based perspective, it’s not that you don’t know how to relax. Your nervous system simply hasn’t shifted out of work mode yet. Throughout the day, your body is responding to things like: The steady stream of ema...

  “Don’t cry!” “Stop being so sensitive.” Do these sound familiar? When kids are taught to suppress their emotions, they carry those lessons into adulthood. Emotional suppression in childhood often stems from well-meaning but misguided messages. Over time, these messages can shape how adults navigate their emotions and relationships, often leading to: Believing their feelings don’t matter. Struggling to ask for help or set boundaries. Over-apologizing or over-sharing in an effort to connect. The good news? Awareness is the first step toward healing. As adults, we can learn to reconnect with our emotions, validate our experiences, and break the cycle of emotional suppression. If this resonates, know you’re not alone, and it’s never too late to rewrite your story. Therapy can provide a safe space to explore these patterns and build healthier connections with yourself and others. If you live in California and desire to design the life you want, click the link in our bio to book a fr...